The App Store Games feed brings a more direct focus on interactive entertainment to Apple, which has traditionally been careful to skirt around having its products identified as gaming devices. With a profile that reads "Embrace the future of gaming. Straight from our Games Editors" and an opening volley of tweets that teases game tips, challenges and behind the scenes looks, it seems that attitude has changed.

The launch of App Store Games is very likely tied to Apple's upcoming Sept. 9 reveal event, which is expected to heavily feature a new Apple TV in addition to the annual iPhone refresh. The last new device in the Apple TV product line was released in 2013. It's managed to remain competitive with cord-cutter friendly items like Roku and Fire TV, but the speed at which processors evolve means the newer tech has much more robust software support.

Take Nvidia's Shield console, which launched earlier in 2015. The Android TV-powered box does all the media streaming you'd expect, but its Tegra processor also has the power to support 4K resolution video and an assortment of mainstream games, including Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, The Talos Principle and Telltale's ever-popular episodic games set in the Game of Thrones and Walking Dead universes.

The new Apple TV reportedly uses the same A8 processor found in the iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2. That processor gets an added boost from the fact that Apple TV doesn't rely on a battery, meaning game developers could really push the chip for all it's worth. Users can certainly expect a smoother experience on the front end, but it's also possible we'll start seeing games that even the latest iPad can't handle.

There's more than a few App Store games, such as XCOM: Enemy Within and BioShock, that port console-friendly experiences to Apple devices. But between the promise of more horsepower and easier discoverability — a problem every App Store developer can preach to — Apple TV could boost gaming for the company in a way that the gamer-friendly iPad Mini line of tablets hasn't.

Plenty of questions swirl as the Sept. 9 reveal inches ever-closer. So much so that it's hard to see the App Store Games launch as a mere coincidence. We'll have to wait and see what the big Apple TV announcements bring, but at this point it looks like gaming is going to be a serious factor in the next-gen take on Apple's popular set-top box.

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